''Uropeltis bhupathyi'', commonly known as the Bhupathy’s shieldtail, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Uropeltidae The Uropeltidae, also known Common name, commonly as the shieldtails or the shield-tailed snakes, are a Family (biology), family of primitive, nonvenomous, burrowing snakes native to peninsular India and Sri Lanka. The name is derived from the Gr ...

. The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the Western Ghats in southern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Etymology

''U. bhupathyi'' is named in honour of Indian

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

and

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

Subramanian Bhupathy Subramanian Bhupathy (also spelled as Subramaniam Bhupathy) (17 July 1962 Nayaganaipiriyal, Tamil Nadu, British India – 28 April 2014 Agastya Malai Hills, Kerala, India) was an Indian herpetologist, wildlife biologist and researcher. He was a ...

Distribution

The species, although native to the Western Ghats in India, has so far only been traced in the Anaikatti hills in

Coimbatore district Coimbatore district is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Coimbatore is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is one of the most industrialized districts and a major textile, industrial, commercial, educ ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

Description

''U. bhupathyi'', a non-venomous burrowing species, usually feeds on earthworms. It possesses over 200 ventral scales and 17 dorsal scale rows at midbody. The tail is short and obliquely truncate. It has keeled scales. It is dark brown in colour, with yellow stripes on either side of neck and tail. It has a metallic appearance. The species has a moderately developed tail shield. The terminal scute is wide and surrounded by 8-10 scales. It grows to about 40 cm in total length. The species suffers the risk of habitat loss. It is also affected by road traffic and pesticides. It also possibly suffers from a condition rendering its head deformed, reminiscent of the snake fungal disease prevalent in North America and Europe.

References

{{taxonbar, from=Q63184309 Reptiles of India Reptiles described in 2018 Uropeltidae